Description
In 2012, a team of Canadian palaeontologists rediscovered a series of fossils collected in 1958 from Alberta’s Foremost Formation, near the village of Foremost. These samples led researchers to identify not only a new species of dinosaur, but the oldest species of its kind yet discovered in Canada. Dr. Ryan and Dr. Evans also collected an additional fragmentary skull of the Xenoceratops from just north of Foremost that confirmed aspects of its reconstruction.
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS:
SRP: $89.95
Item Number: 130562
UPC: 6-23932-05470-7
Composition: 99.99% pure silver
Mintage: 8,500
Weight (g)*: 31.39
Diameter (mm): 38
Face Value: $20
Finish: Proof
Edge: Serrated
Artist: Julius Csotonyi
Packaging: Maroon clamshell with standard beauty box
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Third in the series of silver coins featuring finely engraved, lifelike representations of prehistoric animals discovered in Canada. This species of dinosaur is not only the newest species discovered in Canada but the oldest species of its kind discovered in Canada.
- Xenoceratops foremostensis has been carefully detailed with multiple frostings that accent its body features and markings.
- Researchers believe this dinosaur was about the size of a rhinoceros and weighed nearly 2 tons!
- A beautiful addition to any collection featuring Canadiana, Canadian natural history, Canadian prehistory, or Canadian wildlife.
DESIGN:
The reverse image by Canadian artist Julius Csotonyi features an interpretation of how Xenoceratops may have looked. Viewed from the front on its right side, this full-body portrait presents some of Xenoceratops’ most striking features, including its beak-like mouth, vast spiky skull frill, horns, large muscular body, and relatively short legs. It walks on four-clawed feet across a smooth, stony land mass, its small right eye cast upon the viewer. This artist’s depiction presents an interpretation of possible tonal variations on a pebble-textured hide—all rendered in dimensional detail by Royal Canadian Mint engravers using multiple finishes and expert engraving techniques. The scientific accuracy of the depiction was verified by palaeontologists Dr. Michael Ryan and Dr. David Evans who discovered and described Xenoceratops in 2012.
